No Matter What
by NaruSasuNaruLover
Summary: Clare believed that they could make it through anything even being in separate cities, but everyone else had their doubts. The question is, who's right? future fic Eclare


**Okay so I've never written Eclare before so I'm not sure how in character this will be…This idea came from the song No Matter What by Papa Roach and I think it really fits for their relationship – if you've never heard it I suggest listening to it or at least looking up the lyrics…**

**Anyway, this is my first Degrassi story; let me know what you think :) Not sure if I'll write any others, it really depends on what kind of feedback I get on this…**

**I would make this multi-chapter but I don't have the time and the more I think about it the more I think this works better as just a one-shot…**

**This will skip around a lot to different periods in their life, but I'll try to make it flow well, sorry if it doesn't…**

**This is rated M to be safe it isn't completely detailed but very suggestive and in my opinion too suggestive for T…maybe I'm just paranoid…**

**Anyway, I don't own Degrassi or any the characters unfortunately **

**No Matter What**

It was two weeks before Eli was leaving to New York City and Clare and Eli were trying to make the most of the time they had together. Eli had invited her to go with him and his parents to dinner that night but she declined, saying that they should have a little alone time with their son before he had to leave. In the meantime her and Alli were having a much-needed girl's night at her house. At first they were having fun, talking and laughing but then it took a more serious note when Alli surprised her by asking, "Are you sure a long distance relationship is a good idea?"

Clare looked at her, surprised by the question. Alli had supported her decision to get back together with Eli the entire term and yet there she was asking if she was sure that she wanted to continue to date Eli while he was at NYU. "Yes I'm sure," she responded, a little hurt that Alli would question her and Eli's relationship. It had been stronger than ever since they'd gotten back together, even after they hit a little bump in the road when he found out she hadn't told him about the Asher situation.

"It's just, you guys had such a rocky relationship in the past and I don't want you to get hurt if your relationship doesn't last," she said, speaking the truth about what could possibly happen. "He's going to be college and he's going to be so far away, it's not like it's just a hour drive to go see him, even the flight is longer than a hour," she hated putting doubt in Clare's mind, but she knew it was true. Eli had broken her heart before when his bipolar disorder got the best of him; she wasn't sure how much separation their relationship could handle.

"I've already thought about that," Clare told her as she looked at her best friend. "Then I realize just how our relationship has grown just in this last semester," she adds with a smile on her face, knowing that they both had changed for the best. She couldn't help but smile when she thought of Eli; even though he was leaving she was sure that their relationship would make it. "We're going to be fine," she said with the upmost confidence.

"How can you be so sure?" Alli asked, mostly because she had been thinking about her and Dave. She was leaving as well to go to MIT and graduate early and she wondered if their relationship would last. She didn't understand how Clare could be so confident in a relationship that had so many ups and downs.

"When we first dated he needed me; he needed me to be there and clung to me as if I were a lifeline. It was as if only loved me because he needed me," she explained, but Alli still wasn't following. "Now, he needs me because he loves me, it's not this childish love anymore," Clare smiled. "His disorder is under control now and for once he was doing just fine on his own," she says, remembering back to before they got back together. "I need him in my life, I love him too much to let him go again," she said, making Alli smile as well.

"As long as you're sure about this," Alli said, knowing that Clare had already made her decision. She seemed to have it all figured out, Alli just hoped that her dreams wouldn't come crashing down once they were actually apart. "But you have to keep me updated on everything. I'm going to miss this place so much," she said.

"I just can't believe that you're leaving too," Clare sighed. "I guess it's just Adam and I this year," she frowned, not wanting to think about the fact that two of her best friends were leaving to college.

"Don't worry you'll still have Jenna and the lovely Becky Baker," Alli joked, knowing that while Becky and Clare had similar religious beliefs, they weren't friends. Becky and Eli never got along, making it so Becky and Clare didn't either. "Who knows, maybe without Eli here you two might get along," Alli told her, but Clare doubted it. Clare was playing with her promise ring, which made Alli change the subject; "You've been looking at that ring much more lately."

Clare bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should say anything about what she was thinking. "It's just, I love Eli, I was thinking maybe I should give him something to remember me by," she said, both of them knowing what she was talking about. Her words surprised Alli, the dark haired girl knew that Clare's virginity was something she treasured and the fact that she was even thinking about having sex with Eli was a big deal.

"Clare," she started, she understood where Clare was coming from but she didn't want her friend to give up her promise just because he was leaving. "If he needs sex in order to remember you then he obviously doesn't love you," she said, knowing that she wished that she'd waited for the right guy before she had sex the first time. "If he loves you he'll respect that you want to wait; you don't have to have sex with him just because he's leaving," she told her and Clare nodded, knowing that she was right.

"True love waits," Clare reminded herself as she looked down at her ring. "I hope this is true love then," she laughed. She was confident that they'd stay together even if no one else was; Alli was right, he didn't need anything to remember her by, they loved each other and that is what mattered.

**EC**

It was finally the day that he was leaving, it came much too soon for the couple. He had all of his things packed into a rental car, seeing as he wouldn't need one in New York with the subway and the fact that he was staying on campus. New York wasn't the kind of city that people needed cars to get around, in fact with how bad the traffic usually was it was probably easier to walk most places.

Clare was trying to hold back her tears, but failing as she looked at him. He wasn't doing much better, knowing that they wouldn't see each other for a long time. She pulled him into a tight hug as she cried into his shoulder, "I'm going to miss you so much." When they pulled away she said, "I expect you to call and Skype every chance you get." He laughed at her words and gave her a genuine smile.

"I'm going to miss you too," he said, pushing a curl behind her ear. "I love you," he told her before pulling her into a passionate kiss. They didn't care that their family and friends were standing only a few feet away, watching them. In that moment all they cared about was each other.

"I love you too," she said when she pulled away from the kiss that left her breathless. "And I'm serious about the calls," she told him, this time with a smile as she leaned her forehead against his. They were in their own little world, which was interrupted by Adam clearing his throat, causing them to pull away.

"So do the rest of us get to say goodbye?" he teased as Clare blushed and moved away a little. "I'm kidding," he laughed, "Seriously man, I'm going to miss you." He gave Eli a quick hug and said, "She better not be the only one you call." They all talked for a while, CeCe and Bullfrog both making sure to get their goodbyes in before he had to leave. None of them wanted to say goodbye but it came to a point when they knew they had to. Eli gave Clare one last kiss before getting into the car and leaving.

**EC**

It was winter break when Eli was finally able to make it home again, they had talked on the phone for hours a day, sometimes even falling asleep while doing so, but it wasn't the same as seeing each other in person. The first thing Clare did when he pulled up to his parents' house was pulling him into a kiss, making sure she was the first to greet him. "I'm happy to see you too," he laughed when they pulled away.

"I can't help it," she smiled, "I've missed you." It was the happiest she'd been in a long time and she never wanted to let go. However his parents and Adam walked out of the house and she was forced to let everyone else say hi to him. Everyone else had missed him, but they all knew that they'd missed each other the most. Talking on the phone and the occasional Skype sessions just weren't enough sometimes.

It had been half a term and they were still going strong; proving everyone who doubted them wrong. Winter break wasn't nearly long enough so they knew they had to make the most of it, Clare knew she wasn't leaving his side. Her mother wasn't happy about the idea but Clare was going to be spending plenty of time sleeping at Eli's house; but she assured her mother that sleeping would be the only thing happening.

That didn't mean that they wouldn't have hot make-out sessions on his bed, it just meant that they wouldn't be having sex. It was tempting since she hadn't seen him for months and when he left she wouldn't seem again for a long time, but she knew he'd wait for her. He would never push her even though they both knew he really wanted to.

By the time that he had to leave again she'd lost track of how many times they'd told each other they loved one another and that made her happy. Her heart swelled with joy every time he said it to her as if it were the first time he'd ever said it.

Clare knew that she wanted to be with him the rest of her life and no one was going to convince her otherwise. She was just waiting for the day he'd get on his knee and ask her. She didn't care if it were some big romantic gesture she just wanted to hear those words come out of his mouth. It may be awhile down the road for that to happen, seeing how she was still in high school, but she knew one day it would happen.

**EC**

Years later Clare sat on her couch in her small apartment with books on her lap, studying. She was in her junior year of college and she had a lot of homework to do. Between work, school, and her love life her life had become rather hectic, but it was nothing compared to Degrassi. Nothing could ever compare to all of the drama that surrounded that school. She was happy with her life, there may be some drama every now and then but her life had become rather normal. It wasn't boring because she lived with the love of her life and he could never be boring. She looked down at her left ring finger where the promise ring used to be and smiled when she saw her engagement ring instead. It made her smile when she remembered him proposing, it had been so unexpected seeing as they weren't doing anything spectacular. He had known that she wouldn't want a big spectacle out of it, but he was still romantic about it as he set up what she felt was a perfect, yet ordinary, date, which ended with him on his knee and her crying out of happiness.

She was so engrossed with her thoughts that she didn't hear him come in and jumped when he came behind her and kissed her neck. "Someone's jumpy today," he laughed as she turned toward him. He gave her a real kiss before walking toward the kitchen, "You hungry?"

She bit her lip before abandoning her books on the couch and walking up to him as he looked in the refrigerator. "Yeah," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "But not for food," she said seductively. He turned around with a smile on his face, not hungry after her words. He let the refrigerator shut and she pushed him up against it before deeply kissing him.

Somehow after dating for over four years their love life never got boring. She was always excited to touch him or kiss him, it still made her heart race. Somehow Eli's green eyes always made her feel like she did back in high school. He'd said that she had pretty eyes, but she felt that hers were nothing compared to his. They may not have been married yet, but once he replaced the purity ring on her finger with an engagement ring she no longer seemed to care about her promise, saying it was "close enough" since they were going to get married anyway. He had just laughed and joked that he would have asked sooner if he had known that.

Ever since their first time Clare couldn't seem to get enough of it, saying that they'd had catching up to do after almost four years of not having sex at all and he certainly wasn't going to protest. Most of their friends and family still lived in Canada, though they had made friends in New York as well, so they planned to have their wedding the following summer in their home city. Most of their friends never moved and the ones that did, like Alli, agreed to go back for their wedding.

Though at that point in time, neither of them was thinking about the wedding, only about each other. Eli had hoisted her up onto the kitchen table as they started to shed clothing. She then pulled away from their kiss and said, "We can't do this on the kitchen table."

He just chuckled as he moved down her body, placing kisses as he went, especially on her sensitive neck, "Why not?" They had done it almost everywhere else in their apartment; he didn't see why they couldn't do it in the kitchen. She let out a moan as he took off her bra and his lips found their way to her nipple.

"My parents are coming down to see us next week, I won't be able to look at them knowing that we've had sex on the place we'll be eating," she told him, though part of it was incoherent because of the moans escaping her mouth. "Please don't talk about your parents right now," he said, seeing as her parents weren't his biggest fans and it definitely wasn't a turn on to think about them during sex. "Then take me to the bedroom," she demanded.

He lifted her back up, her legs wrapping around him as he walked toward the bedroom. Everything with Eli was intense and sex was no exception, he left her breathless and satisfied every time. "I love you," he panted out after they were done as he pulled her into his arms. They were facing each other, their limbs tangled, arms around each other and faces just inches apart.

"I love you too," she smiled before giving him a chaste kiss, knowing if it got any deeper they'd just end up having sex again. It was moments like that, the tender moments between them that were her favorite. She loved everything they did, except when they fought, but when she was just wrapped up in his arms she felt bliss.

Then he had to ruin the moment by asking, "So how are you going to face them when they sit on the couch?" She pushed him away with a huff, but he just pulled her back, "You'll be embarrassed a lot if that happens every time your parents are somewhere in this apartment that we've had sex." She just looked at him and he laughed, "You know it's true."

"Maybe we should just go out to eat while they're here," she suggested, rather than bringing her parents to the apartment now that he'd reminded her of how many places in the apartment they'd made love. "Does that mean we can do it on the kitchen table now?" he asked suggestively. "No," she immediately replied and he let out a fake sigh of disappointment. "I'm letting you out of this bed any time soon," she said before pulling him into another kiss, "Ready for round two?"

Looking back on her life, Clare realized that she was right not to listen to everyone else. They had made it through so much and it only made their relationship stronger. As she lay next to him, she knew that no matter what they'd make it through anything. She knew it was easy to say that before marriage, she'd seen with her parents that divorce happens, but they aren't her parents. They were so different, yet so similar that it worked for them. They had their moments, like every couple does, but they finally knew how to deal with them without one of them running away. No matter what they were all in.

**The End**

**Let me know what you think…I'm not sure that I like it much but let me know…Good? Bad? Horrible?**

**Should I keep writing for Degrassi? **

**I'm not sure I got the characters down quite right so sorry if they are too out of character…**


End file.
